Poolside at the Avalon Hotel

Avalon Hotel’s restaurant, Blue on Blue, has just introduced its version of a chef’s table – the chef’s cabana. The poolside dining experience starts with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres that lead into a four-course family-style dinner. There’s a special menu that includes ingredients from local farmers markets and herbs and greens from the hotel’s rooftop garden. I had a chance to experience the cabana menu last week (along with e*starla, Pocket Lint and Ritz Bites), and some of the standout dishes were the smoked trout crostini, golden beat tartare, quinoa and hericot vert salad, and spiced pork tenderloin. The Elixir martini, made with house-infused cucumber-dill vodka (made with rooftop dill that’s infused with the vodka for six days), sweetened lime and white cranberry, is excellent (this martini is available on blue on blue’s regular drinks menu, too).

There is a downside: Only those with deep pockets will be able to afford eating here since spots at the cabana are $150 per person. For those with even deeper pockets, an additional $250 will get you a private shopping trip with Chef Scott Garrett, who will accompany you in buying your dinner at either the Santa Monica or Hollywood farmers market. Since you are paying so much, Garrett, formerly with Viceroy’s Whist, says he will accommodate off-menu requests. And he’s married to a pastry chef at SusieCakes, which means the bakery’s super-moist coconut cake can accompany Blue on Blue’s soft chocolate chip cookies (the secret: they’re undercooked).

Earlier: News from Avalon Hotel

Elixir martini

Rooftop garden

Smoked trout crostini

Spiced pork tenderloin

The pool at the Avalon Hotel

Avalon Hotel – that little boutique hotel almost hidden at the weird intersection of Beverly Drive and Olympic Boulevard – has recently introduced some new menus at its restaurant, blue on blue. In addition to Executive Chef Scott Garrett’s new chef’s cabana experience (more on that later – sooner rather than later, I promise), blue on blue has introduced a DJ-spun poolside weekday happy hour and a similar weekend event.

• Groove on Blue: Every Thursday night from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., blue on blue hosts a poolside happy hour with DJ Grand Marquee providing mood music in the form of indie and electro. Small plates and drink specials, including mini bacon cheeseburgers with garlic aioli and punch made from house-infused alcohol, are $8.

• Detox/Retox: DJ Grand Marquee will also spin poolside every Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. when guests can choose from a “Detox” hangover-cure menu and a “Retox” party-going menu. Some of the items on the Detox menu are peanut soba salad, shrimp and watermelon gazpacho, and sparkling pomegranate lemonade. The Retox menu includes fish tacos, scallop carpaccio and a bloody mary, among others. All food and drink items are $8.

And for the ultimate Avalon poolside experience, you can rent a 10-person cabana for $150, which doesn’t include the $500 food and beverage minimum. I’d stick with the $8 specials, which won’t break the bank, especially since valet parking is free for blue on blue guests. In Los Angeles, that really is special.